Drink Your Milk

As I poured milk on my cereal this morning, and noticed the Vitamin D label, I was reminded of what I was taught as a child … Drink Your Milk. Don’t you want to grow up big and strong? Milk is good for your Bones, you know?

Calcium makes your bones stronger, and vitamin D helps calcium to be absorbed into bones. Thus it is very important to eat a healthy diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D. As a teenager, your daily recommended requirement of calcium and vitamin D is 1000 mg and 100(IU) respectively.

Today we know that higher Vitamin D levels lowers the chances of developing colon cancer, and data suggests the vitamin may also be a lifesaver for people who already suffer from this type of cancer.

Scientists are investigating the use of vitamin D supplements in treating and preventing colon cancer. More studies are needed to determine whether vitamin D supplements should be routinely recommended for colon cancer patients, but deficiency should definitely be avoided.

We get vitamin D in our diet, but we can actually make our own vitamin D with the help of sun exposure. Dark-skinned individuals are more likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency because melanin impedes the penetration of sunlight into the skin.

Vitamin D is found in fortified milk and butter, cod liver oil, salmon, sardines, and mackerel, and the recommended daily allowance is 200 International Units (IU) for people aged 19-50; 400 IUs for those between 51 and 69; and 600 IUs for those 70 years and older. Too much vitamin D can cause dehydration, nausea, constipation, weakness, so the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board recommends an upper limit of 2,000 IUs of vitamin D for children and adults, and an upper limit of 1,000 IUs for infants under 12 months of age.

So continue to catch at least 30 minutes of sun as often as you can, and drink all your milk too!